J80 News

(La Rochelle, France)- Three and a half months after the first stage in Brest, the eighteen sailing clubs gathered in La Rochelle for the 3rd edition of the French National Sailing League, sailing in a fleet of matched J/80 one-design class sailboats. Host for the regatta was the Société des Régates Rochelaises.After the Brest regatta, it was the APCC Voile Sportive Team from Nantes that was leading, just ahead of the Normans of the CV Saint Aubin Elbeuf (CVSAE). The teams were recruiting top talent to help them improve their performance, including such French sailing superstars like Kévin Péponnet (470...

(Houston, TX)- J/Fest Southwest was a spectacular success this year! Sixty-two boats total; the J/22’s and J/24’s really came out in force! The sailors were treated to awesome sailing conditions both days; in particular, it was windy on Saturday with gusts in the high 20’s, which was tough on humans, sails, and boats. Reported Scott Spurlin- J/Boats Southwest dealer- “we had a nice sustained downhill ride on the J/88! Held 17.2kts for a loong time. Crew was hooting and hollering!”The J/FEST Southwest Regatta took place from October 12th to 14th, hosted by Lakewood YC. The event started out with the...

(Lake Pleasant, AZ)- You bet! On a gorgeous body of water northwest of downtown Phoenix, it’s actually a huge lake- called Lake Pleasant. For years, the past Commodore of the Arizona YC, Victor Felice, has been promoting sailing of all kinds on the lake- ranging from J/24s to J/80s to Hobie 16s and anything in between.Recently, we find that Victor’s “Tiller and Kites- Exceptional Sailing” program has continued to gain passionate, enthusiastic sailors to the lake. His latest recruit is the sweet, attractive Brooke Miller from downtown Phoenix, AZ. Here is a sailing video of Brooke’s recent sailing escapades, skippering...

(Hamble, England)- Hamble Yacht Services (HYS) and the Hamble River Sailing Club (HRSC) announce a three-year partnership for the HYS Hamble Winter Series. Well over 1,000 sailors will be taking part in the UK's most popular winter series, all of which will benefit from the long-term partnership.The 2018 HYS Hamble Winter Series will be the 37th edition run by the HRSC, the event is organized by a very experienced team, led by PRO Kathy Smalley, and supported by around 40 dedicated volunteers every race day.“Organising racing for the series requires resources, and whilst we have the tremendous support of enthusiastic...

(Lorient, France)- For the 19th edition of the Atlantic Telegramme Regatta, hosted by the CN Lorient from September 21st to 23rd, a fleet of J/70s and J/80s enjoyed a friendly and sporting atmosphere of offshore sailing. The event is renowned for conviviality and the bar along the pontoons, and the Saturday evening crew dinner.Winning the ten-boat J/70 fleet was Bruno James team on LE MDCO CHERBOURG with a 2-1-1-1-4 tally for 9 pts total. His crew was comprised of Hugues Dorriere, Olivier Fantou, and Sebastien Metivier. Taking the silver was Philippe Guigne’s VIRTUAL REGATTA 70, with crew of Damien Scelo,...

(Seattle, WA)- Kurt Hoehne, an active sailor and writer of the popular blog- SAILISH.com- in the Pacific Northwest offered some thoughts on their popular charity sailing event held each summer- the “Pink Boat Regattas”.Said Kurt, “The Pink Boat Regattas have proven an effective and extremely fun fundraiser for sailors to help fight breast cancer. The final tallies aren’t in for this year’s three Pacific Northwest events (Bellingham, Seattle, Tacoma), but Jennifer Mathis of the Pink Boat Regatta reports that more than a half million dollars have been raised over seven years, and that Tacoma exceeded their goal of $20,000.Jan Anderson...

2017 J/80 Worlds - the Stage is Set

The 16th edition of the J/80 World Championship, is proudly hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club. 47 teams from Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and

Spain will be competing. 14 races are scheduled to take place in The Solent, providing four days of top class racing for a truly world class fleet.

Viva España!Spain has been the dominate nation in the J/80 World Championships with eight wins, and Rayco Tabares Alvarez has won the title an unprecedented three times, including the last two years. Rayco is no stranger to the Royal Southern Yacht Club, he was tactician for Jose Maria Torcida's J/70, which was runner up for the J/70 Europeans, hosted by the Royal Southern last month. Alavrez's team is one of four Spanish teams competing. Jose Maria Van Der Ploeg won the J/80 Worlds in 2012 and an Olympic Gold Medal for Spain, in the Finn Class in 1992. Pepequin Orbaneja has placed third and fourth in the last two J/80 World Championships, and Javier Chacártegui Cirerol was fifth in 2016.

Rule Britannia!25 teams from Great Britain will be competing, and hoping to emulate Great Britain's only J/80 World Champion, Ruairidh Scott in 2005. Another Scotsman, Kevin Sproul is the reigning J/80 UK National Champion, winning his seventh title at the Royal Southern last month. Scottish prowess in the class seems to be growing, Luke Patience is new to the J/80 Class, however the Olympic 470 Silver Medallist reeled off a string of wins at last month's J/80 UK Nationals. Jon Powell pushed Kevin Sproul all the way in this year's UK J/80 Nationals, and several other British skippers showed their pedigree including, Chris Body and Nick Haigh.

Vive la France!13 teams from France will be competing including; Eric Brezellec, a former French J/80 National Champion and runner up at the 2016 Worlds. Simon Moriceau is the reigning French National Champion and Elodie Bonafous is one of France's top female drivers. Luc Nadal was eighth at the 2016 World Championship. Claire Montécot, owner of French J/80 Startijenn, sits on the French Class Committee and has been working with the UK J Boats agent, Key Yachting, to help promote the event in France.

The Royal Southern Yacht Club will be hosting daily prize givings with refreshments available to all crew. The 2017 J/80 World Champion will be crowned on Friday 14th July, with regatta sponsor Raymarine providing a wealth of top of the range marine electronics.

Royal Southern Yacht Club Commodore, Karen Henderson-Williams promises a warm welcome to all competitors. “The Club is honoured to be chosen to host the J/80 World Championship, we are very much looking forward to welcoming you all to the club. Our race management team and all of the staff at the clubhouse will be doing their best to make sure that you have an enjoyable and memorable regatta.”